Casey Affleck was born as Caleb Affleck in 1975 in Falmouth, Massachusetts. He is of Scottish and Irish descent. Although he has been acting in films for over ten years, Casey is best known for being the younger brother to Ben Affleck who gained notoriety for his starring role in Good Will Hunting in 1997. Although most people didn’t realize it, Casey had a small part in the film as well.

His mother, Chris, was an elementary school teacher with a Harvard education. His father, Tim, was an aspiring actor who never made it. He left the family when the Affleck brothers were still in elementary school, leaving his mother to raise the boys on her own. Casey’s mother was the one who encouraged both boys to go on auditions for TV shows and commercials as a way to keep them busy after school and off the streets. Both boys had some success early on when Casey landed a small role in the TV movie Lemon Sky, which starred Kevin Bacon.

Casey followed his brother and close friend Matt Damon into high school at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. At the school, the three boys took drama classes from Gerry Speca, who prepared them for a career in acting. By the time Casey graduated in 1993, both Matt and Ben had already moved to Los Angeles and had begun scoring roles in films. Straight out of high school, Casey drove across the country to follow in his brothers’ footsteps.

Casey promised his mother that he would give his acting aspirations one year, and if he didn’t hit it big he would go to college. He has said that the entire year was pretty miserable. To make ends meet Affleck worked as a busboy at a restaurant and went to auditions for bad television shows every other week.

Casey proved he has brains when he attended Columbia University to study physics. At the time he lived with his grandmother. It was at this time that Affleck also decided to become a vegan. The decision was supported by both of his parents.

In 2004, Casey got engaged to his girlfriend of four years, Summer Phoenix, the actress and model sister of actors Joaquin Phoenix and River Phoenix. Casey and Joaquin are also best friends and lived in the same apartment building in New York City. Before Casey and Summer were married, their first son, Indiana August, was born in May of 2004. The couple married in Georgia in 2006.

Casey has spent the better part of a decade trying to crawl out from his brother’s shadow and to establish himself in the acting world. He has been a part of such films as Ocean’s Eleven in 2001, Ocean’s Twelve in 2004, Lonesome Jim in 2005, and The Last Kiss in 2006. Two films that Casey regrets being a part of are Drowning Mona in 2000 and Soul Survivors also in 2001.

YUDDY